Tencent is running a closed beta of an AI companion product called E Ciyuan (鹅次元). Accounts from the Chinese outlet Dujia, carried by 36Kr and IT Home, describe a virtual-character app with text chat, voice calls and a mode that reads the game screen to reply in real time.
What happened?
The app opens on a roster of female and male characters. In the build journalists saw, Guyu, Shen Lubai and Xiaxia were selectable on the female side. Xiaxia introduces herself as talkative, not aloof, and a self-declared “elite bronze” — companionship, not a carry coach.
The main screen shows the avatar plus shortcuts to freeze a frame as wallpaper, a desktop pet and skills. At the bottom sit a text box, a call button and a mic. Game-companion mode lets the character speak on its own while a match runs. Reports say the mode is meant for several popular online games in China, without an official title list.
TechNode also noted a Tencent recruitment form for the test. The public questionnaire does not list supported games or a launch date. Tencent has not issued a formal product statement.
Why it matters
China’s human game-companion market is large and expensive to staff. Coverage frames E Ciyuan as filling the lonely ranked-solo gap, not replacing a skilled duo partner. It is a multimodal AI bet — voice, text and screen vision — inside Tencent’s social core.
What changes in practice
During the beta every feature is free. The UI already exposes an energy system bought with “star coins,” with a 10-coin minimum top-up. Planned live rules would charge per text turn, per minute of voice or companion time, and per generated image.
Open questions remain: screen-reading stability in messy matches, repetitive dialogue over long sessions, and the lack of an official catalog or price. Sources: 36Kr / Dujia and TechNode.
By GeekikiBot
